Documentation
RFQ Comparison & Awards
RFQ Comparison & Awards converts submitted supplier quotations into an auditable buyer decision. It combines commercial, technical and delivery information without replacing buyer responsibility.
What the award screen is deciding
RFQ Comparison & Award is where the buyer turns current submitted quotation revisions into a documented supplier decision. It compares suppliers line by line and allows quantity to be awarded to one or more suppliers.
The screen is designed to show why an award was made: price, landed cost, target/last-purchase variance, technical compliance, lead time, recommendation, award reason and buyer justification.
General tab
| Field | Requirement | Meaning / significance |
|---|---|---|
| Award Number | System generated | Read-only award document identifier. |
| RFQ | Mandatory | Source RFQ. New awards select from RFQs ready for evaluation, normally Closed/Evaluated. |
| Award Date | Operationally required | Date of the sourcing decision. |
| Evaluation Notes | Recommended | Header-level explanation of evaluation assumptions, committee context or decision notes. |
How comparable commercial cost works
The comparison does not rank suppliers only by typed Unit Price. Comparable landed cost includes proportional Freight, Packing and Other quotation-level charges and applies the quotation Exchange Rate.
This allows a supplier with a lower visible Unit Price but higher freight/packing to be compared more fairly with another supplier.
Key comparison columns
| Column | What it means | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Supplier being compared for the RFQ line. | Review alongside compliance and delivery, not in isolation. |
| Quote / Revision | Current submitted quotation/revision used in comparison. | Superseded revisions cannot receive a new award. |
| Quoted Qty | Quantity offered by supplier. | Award Qty cannot exceed valid quoted/requested limits. |
| Original / Current | Earlier versus current negotiated commercial price where revision history exists. | Use Negotiated Saving to understand negotiation movement. |
| Landed / Unit | Comparable landed unit cost after allocated quote charges and exchange rate. | Primary commercial comparison basis. |
| Commercial Rank / L1 | Rank of comparable landed cost. | L1 is lowest comparable commercial cost, not automatic selection. |
| Target / vs Target | RFQ internal Target Price and variance. | Shows whether supplier pricing is above/below internal expectation. |
| Last Purchase / vs Last | Previous purchase price/reference and variance. | Use as historical intelligence, not a guarantee that old price is still achievable. |
| 6M Avg | Recent six-month purchase average where available. | Provides broader price history beyond one last purchase. |
| Lead | Supplier delivery lead time. | Important when delivery requirement has business value. |
| Compliance | Technical compliance state. | NON_COMPLIANT cannot receive award quantity. |
| Recommendation | Advisory composite score. | Decision support only; buyer remains responsible. |
| Award Qty | Quantity to award to that supplier line. | Can be split across suppliers without exceeding requirement. |
| Reason / Justification | Business reason and explanation for the decision. | Especially important for non-L1, split or exception decisions. |
Procurement Recommendation – 60 / 25 / 15
| Component | Weight | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | 60% | Comparable commercial/landed-cost strength. |
| Technical compliance | 25% | How well the quotation meets the technical requirement. |
| Delivery | 15% | Delivery/lead-time strength. |
Award Reason dropdown
| Value | When to use |
|---|---|
| LOWEST_LANDED_COST | Supplier is selected because it has the lowest comparable landed cost. |
| BEST_DELIVERY | Delivery commitment is the deciding advantage. |
| TECHNICAL_SUPERIORITY | Technical merit justifies selection. |
| PREFERRED_SUPPLIER | Selection follows an approved preferred-supplier decision. |
| SPLIT_AWARD | Requirement is deliberately divided among multiple suppliers. |
| NEGOTIATED_PRICE | Award reflects negotiated commercial terms. |
| OTHER | Another documented business reason; explain it clearly in Justification. |
Quantity, compliance and revision controls
- At least one supplier quotation line must receive Award Qty before an award can be saved/submitted.
- The quotation used for award must be submitted/current for the RFQ.
- A superseded quotation revision cannot receive a new award.
- A NON_COMPLIANT line cannot receive Award Qty.
- Award Qty must remain within the valid requested/quoted quantity constraints.
- Multiple suppliers can receive quantity for the same RFQ line as a controlled split award.
Status and actions
| Stage / Action | Meaning / effect |
|---|---|
| DRAFT / Apply | Buyer is preparing the recommendation and award quantities. Apply saves work without submitting it. |
| Submit Award | Moves the Draft award into SUBMITTED decision state. |
| Confirm Award | Used when no separate RFQ Award approval template exists. |
| Approve Award | Used when an RFQ Award approval flow is configured. |
| APPROVED | Award decision is accepted and can create Purchase Orders. |
| Create Purchase Orders | Creates one or more Purchase Orders from awarded supplier quantities and links the generated POs to award lines. |
| PO_CREATED | Purchase Orders have been generated from the award. |
| Cancel Award | Cancels the award before downstream PO creation where allowed. |
Create Purchase Orders – downstream result
Create Purchase Orders groups approved award quantities by supplier and creates the corresponding Purchase Order documents. A split award can therefore create more than one PO from the same RFQ Award.
The award lines retain their generated Purchase Order ID/Number references so the sourcing decision can be traced into supplier commitments.
Decision checklist for a non-L1 award
- Confirm the selected line is technically compliant or acceptably partially compliant.
- Review the exact landed-cost difference from L1.
- Check delivery/lead-time advantage.
- Review target, last-purchase and recent average price intelligence.
- Choose the correct Award Reason.
- Write a clear Justification that another buyer, approver or auditor can understand later.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
What does L1 mean?
L1 is the lowest comparable landed-cost result. It is not an automatic supplier award.
What is included in landed cost?
The comparison includes supplier line commercial values plus proportional quotation freight, packing and other charges, normalized using quotation exchange rate.
Can I split one RFQ line across suppliers?
Yes. Enter Award Qty on multiple supplier rows while keeping the total within the requirement and use/document Split Award where appropriate.
Can an old superseded quotation revision be awarded?
No. The award service requires the relevant quotation to be current and submitted/accepted; superseded revisions cannot receive a new award.